Play a game of word association with the average American. Say "banjo". Chances are, a great many would reply with words like "hillbilly" or "redneck". Some might venture to mention bluegrass music. How did a musical instrument which started off hundreds of years ago in Africa end-up becoming a symbol of "white" American music culture? And what if some of the earliest people of non-African ancestry to take-up the banjo were actually...Appalachian Jews? Join us for another winding trek through the hidden history of heartland America ..read more

In Part 1 of "Black Paddywhackery", we learned about the origins of the Irish people, and asked why so many Americans self-identify as "Black Irish", believing themselves descended from survivors of the Spanish Armada which wrecked off the west coast of Ireland.   Having shown the flaws in this folk history, in Part 2 of "Black Paddywhackery" we explore the true origins of those who call themselves "Black Irish".  ..read more

A curious number of Southern Appalachians like to refer to themselves or extended family members as being "Black Irish". There are Facebook discussion groups catering to Appalachian Americans (with tens of thousands of members), and almost weekly an "expert" pops up assuring other members that the "Black Irish" are a thing, and that thing is usually this: "Loads of Irish people have black eyes, dark hair and skin.  They come from Spanish sailors stranded on Irish coasts during the naval retreat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.  These sailors intermarried with local Irish girls."  ..read more

The eastern half of the continental USA is dotted with places inaccurately described as "tri-racial isolate communities". One of the largest such population groups can be found spread over Eastern Kentucky, the western parts of Virginia, East Tennessee, and West Virginia. Widely known as "Melungeons", few Americans have been the subject of such intense scrutiny and curiosity. Who are these people?  And why are they called "Melungeons"?   In this third and final installment of a three-part episode, we complete our exploration of this Appalachian and American enigma.  Is this a st ..read more

Appalachia has no shortage of murder ballads and murder tales. And Appalachia certainly has no shortage of folklore dealing with "haints" and witches. But sometimes all of these become entangled, and it gets hard to tell who was the murderer, or who was haunting who. Was a witch haunting her killer? Or was a witch being haunted by one of her victims? Follow us into a dark, moss-covered tent grave cemetery in Middle Tennessee for our first ever special Hallowe'en podcast episode ..read more

November 1620.  Aboard a freezing ship anchored off Cape Cod, Massachusetts... A mutual cooperation agreement is signed by a group of men representing 101 passengers who had survived a perilous north Atlantic crossing, hoping to found a colony in the "New World". This agreement would be important, because some of these passengers were members of a religious sect calling themselves "Saints". The other two-thirds of the Mayflower passengers were not self-declared "Saints". These "Saints" - later known to history as "The Pilgrims" - called the people who outnumbered them "Strangers". Take a ..read more

A middle-aged artist named John White climbed out of a rowboat onto a beach near Roanoke in America in 1590, searching for his missing daughter and grandchildren.   His paintings from that time and place have survived.   But did his family survive as well ..read more

"Before We Were White" podcast launches Thursday, 1 Oct 2020 ..read more